Why we cannot provide security for ships at berth - Marine police

Tayo Oladipupo I

The Nigeria Police Force has given reason why it cannot avert the incessant attacks on ships at berth at the Lagos ports in recent times.

Recall that out of the total 45 attacks in ships globally, 22 of such attacks took place within the Nigerian territorial waters in May.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Maritime command, Mr. Alkali Baba Usman said the Maritime police could not provide the necessary security for ships at berth because the command lacks logistics.

He said this during a working visit to the headquarters of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Lagos, Thursday.

Usman added that the boats needed to patrol the vessels anytime they are at berth until they finish discharging their consignment was not provided for the command.

He stated further that because of altercation with the Nigerian Navy (NN) at sea, the police are incapacitated to provide arms guard to the ships whenever they berth.

Usman who told gathering of freight Forwarders that the police would continue to stop containers on the road added that many issues including hacking, under declaration, forgery form the basis of their actions.

According to him, 146 cases are presently under investigation under the command for offences bothering on those factors.

The AIG further stated that 3 officers and men of the command were arrested and detained over the weekend for illegal activities.

Admitting that there are bad eggs among the force, he said it was obtainable in all sectors of the society.

Earlier, the President of NAGAFF, Increase Uche in his opening speech lamented the challenges posed on their members by the overlapping functions of government agencies at the ports.

He said the agencies abused general duty powers by unauthorised police operatives within and outside the port.

Increase Uche said, “Aside from this, we have the issues of unchecked harassment and violation of the rights of our members by various agencies of the government at ports, the non-enforcement of regulations, the resistance to change by port users, the high handedness of Terminal Operators and Shipping Companies, the deplorable state of the ports access roads and the widespread corruption in the system.”

He however commended the police boss for proactive action on resolving the rampant issuance of letters to shipping companies, terminal operators and other government agencies to block containers from being released.